Direction: Eliza Hittman
Country: USA
Having gut-wrenching performances by newcomers Sidney Flanigan and Talia Ryder as its pillar of strength, Never Rarely Sometimes Always is a poignantly portrayed chronicle about the undesired pregnancy of a teenage girl that not for one second feels forced. American writer/director Eliza Hittman has been getting recognition worldwide with coming-of-age dramas set in New York - It Felt Like Love (2013) and Beach Rats (2017) - but this latest release, a sure-footed look into female adolescence, sexuality and abortion, is now my favorite of her short filmography.
The vulnerable Autumn (Flanigan), 17, spends her time studying, working in a supermarket and occasionally performing as a singer/songwriter in a rural Pennsylvania town. After weeks waiting for her period, a pregnancy test confirms the worst scenario, forcing her to leave the state to have a medically safe abortion in a New York clinic. The only person who’s aware of her condition is her cousin, Skylar (Ryder), who willingly accompanies her. But what should have taken one single day, lasts three due to bureaucratic requirements. Out of money and with no safe place to stay, the girls will have to depend on strangers if they want to, at least, have a meal.
The drama feels grippingly real. There’s an emotionally devastating scene in which Autumn, visibly overwhelmed, answers a very personal test about her relationships. This is a key point in the film, which, revealing some grim realities, stays with us long after the credits roll. Directorial sensitivity and narrative focus remain fundamental elements of the quality work that Hittman has been developing.
